Several videos circulating on social media showed pushing and scuffles between rival groups, with police personnel attempting to separate them. In one widely shared clip, Banerjee appeared to slap a TMC worker while trying to clear a path to move injured supporters. Party leaders said she was attempting to disperse the crowd so the injured could be taken for treatment.
Workers of the BJP and the TMC clashed at several locations during the march, prompting police to baton-charge the rival groups to restore order. Police later deployed additional personnel and brought the situation under control.
Escalating her political attack, Banerjee alleged that “those who looted donations for the Ram Temple are creating disturbance here in the name of Lord Ram”, an apparent reference to recent allegations surrounding the management of donations at the Ayodhya shrine.
Without naming anyone, she also accused the BJP-led Centre of attempting to suppress democratic protests through intimidation. “No government can silence the voices of the people or snatch away their democratic rights through fear and torture. This government is relying on anti-social elements with police support,” she alleged.
Banerjee also claimed that around 50 protesters had been arrested in Bongaon during separate demonstrations, alleging that democratic protests were being systematically suppressed. She said if even court-approved processions could be obstructed, it raised serious questions about the rule of law and people’s democratic rights.
The rally was organised to protest the alleged rape and murder of the minor in Baruipur. The girl’s body was recovered from a pond in Surjyapur Haat on 5 July, a day after she went missing. Locals alleged that she was raped and murdered before her body was dumped in a sack.
Meanwhile, Prabhas Mondal, one of the prime accused and key witnesses in the case, was killed in an alleged encounter early on Wednesday after he allegedly snatched a firearm from a policeman and attempted to escape during a crime scene reconstruction, police said. Another accused, Kabir Molla, was arrested later in the day, taking the total number of arrests in the case to four.
The BJP did not immediately respond to Banerjee’s allegations.
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